Hasta La Gadget!

It’s pretty early in the game to call the iPad a winner (or loser) but that’s not going to stop analysts and industry execs from their god-given right to bluster. AppleInsider did a nice roundup of Wall Street types predicting year one sales to be anywhere from 1 million and 5 million units with potential to grow as Apple churns out future device iterations, more content and carrier agreements, and a broader global reach of its devices and services. Paul Peng, executive VP of AU Optronics’ global business unit, the company tasked with providing the iPad’s display apparently, sees Apple selling up to 10 million units annually. Then again, AUO’s going to hype this device with all it’s got in hopes of selling additional panels to more clients.

On the surface, these numbers are pretty optimistic when you consider that Apple sells about 13.5 million Macs per year (extrapolating 3.36 million sold last quarter). Even more so when you realize that only 3 million to 4 million tablet PCs are sold annually according to Peng and Endpoint Technologies’ analyst Roger Kay. Problem is, the iPad isn’t really a tablet PC is it? As Technologizer astutely points out, “the iPad isn’t a traditional PC — it’s more of an appliance. You don’t tinker with your television; you turn it on and consume services.” By that logic, it’s not a direct competitor to the netbook or e-reader either (though the markets definitely overlap). The only thing we can say with certainty is that it is divisive and that it has captivated the attention of the entire consumer electronics industry.

Apple’s iPad to demand lion’s share of tablet PC market? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We heard that HP‘s recently unveiled TouchSmart tm2 tablet would begin shipping immediately, and given that said “unveiling” happened just last week, well… you know we couldn’t lay off the first unboxing video that we’ve seen. One particular user decided to bless us (or harass us, depending on perspective) with five full minutes of YouTube footage dedicated to the device’s unwrapping, which even includes a breathtaking view of the owners manual being glanced right over in favor of that whole “jumping right in” thing. Be sure to hit up the More Coverage link below if you’re a to-be owner — already lots of chatter going on from folks who just landed one of their own.

[Thanks, Mike and Andy]

Continue reading HP’s TouchSmart tm2 gets exhaustively unboxed on video

HP’s TouchSmart tm2 gets exhaustively unboxed on video originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s no secret to us (or our readers) that Apple’s products tend to generate what some might consider insane amounts of interest for weeks, months, and even years before they’re launched or even announced. Whether you love the company or hate its guts, you can’t deny that Apple is particularly prone to being fodder for the rumor mill. It comes in all forms: leaked photos (be they real, fake, or merely imaginative fan creations), analyst speculation based on “what if” scenarios for investors, “insider” reports from Asian supply chains, and a fair amount of conjecture via the press, both mainstream and blog alike. Here at Engadget, we’ve always been pretty proud of our ability to decode fact from fiction, and we try not to add too much noise to the echo chamber in which the gadget world seems to sometimes live. That said, we do cover plenty of rumors — and the Apple Tablet (in its many rumored form factors) may just be the biggest and most twisted of them all.

Apple’s been kicking around the idea of a tablet since at least… oh, 1983. From real, physical prototypes to out-there ideas such as the Knowledge Navigator — the company (who did not, alas, invent the idea of a tablet PC) has, somewhat unsurprisingly, seen fit to investigate the possibility for almost as long as it’s been around. For one reason or another, though, they’ve never actually produced a device which saw the light of retail day (well, besides the Newton). Perhaps that’s part of the fascination that Apple fans have with the product — it’s been rumored so long, and seemed on the verge of actual arrival so many times that it’s become a Holy Grail of sorts for the tech community.

The rumor timeline

2004 – 2006: The early years

2007 – 2008: Backburner

2009: The heat is (back) on

2010: The year we make contact?

Wrap-up

Follow the saga

Evidence that any tablet actually existed or would come to retail, however, has always been slim at best. In the entire lifespan of Engadget, not one viable photo of a real-looking prototype has ever emerged, and not one source within Apple itself has ever really hinted that it was at work on such a product. Oh sure, there have been dozens — possibly hundreds — of people “familiar with the matter,” but almost no one who would or could go on record to talk about the tablet, and in the end, it’s always seemed like a non-starter. The Apple Tablet rumor started in earnest around 2002 — before Engadget was even around. By the time we arrived to the party, the idea that Apple might be working on a tablet or slate PC was pretty firmly entrenched into the psyche of the avid gadget geek, but again, perilously little evidence existed to support the idea, or shall we say… the hope?

And here we are, in January of 2010, on the verge of yet another expiration date for the rumored launch of an Apple Tablet (though let’s be honest — this thing is starting to feel pretty real). We thought now might be as good a time as any to take a look back — back through the rumor timeline of one of the gadget world’s longest-standing, and seemingly best-loved unicorns. Join us for the ride, won’t you?

Continue reading The Apple Tablet: a complete history, supposedly

The Apple Tablet: a complete history, supposedly originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 10:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The HP Slate — has there ever been a more iconic, more groundbreaking, more life-altering device? Oh, there has? Well anyway, HP CTO Phil McKinney has been friendly enough to share some of the history behind the development of his company’s newly announced tablet, which is set for a release at some point later this year. Starting with e-reader prototypes five years ago, he tells us, HP steadily built up an idea of the sort of “rich media experience” modern consumers are lusting after. It’s only now, however, in a “perfect storm” of innovation, that HP finds itself capable of pairing the right hardware with the mainstream-friendly price point it was shooting for. Join us after the break for the full dose of education on this multitouch Windows 7 machine.

Continue reading HP Slate teases us with another video appearance

HP Slate teases us with another video appearance originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 01:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Plug into the latest Engadget Podcast for the lowdown on all the hottest, dirtiest, nastiest Apple Tablet rumors! Too hot for text! If you don’t get down with the Crowd from Cupertino you can also feast your ears on sultry Finnish imports, steamy webOS reviews, and yeah, even some wild and wooly Windows Mobile wishes! FREE for a limited time only. Featuring Chris “Zazzle” Ziegler. Void where prohibited.

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller
Guest: Chris Ziegler
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Song: Electrodreams – Where It’s At

Hear the podcast

01:50 – Nokia N900 review
13:40 – Nokia Ovi Maps with free turn-by-turn navigation hands-on
13:49 – Nokia offering free turn-by-turn navigation on smartphones globally (updated)
19:32 – Palm Pre Plus (and Pixi Plus) review
29:40 – Palm Pre Plus shows off multitasking upgrade with 50 simultaneous apps (video)
31:10 – The Engadget Show – 005: Google’s Erick Tseng, CES wrap-up, WiDi, AR.Drone, and more!
31:15 – Next Android version will be called Froyo, says Erick Tseng
31:37 – Windows Mobile 7 megarumor: LG Apollo and HTC Obsession running flagship ‘720p’ specs, Zune Phone Experience
32:40 – Microsoft’s Twitter chatter suggests Danger is up to something — Pink drawing near?
34:10 – It’s on: Apple holding January 27th event to show off its ‘latest creation’
36:00 – Apple rumor roundup: pipe dreams, Lala’s role and Verizon’s iPhone 4G
38:00 – WSJ: Apple tablet to have books, games, music, TV, will make sandwiches
40:00 – Apple Tablet rumor roundup: summer 2010 edition
42:00 – Apple rumor roundup: future of media edition
45:00 – WSJ: Apple and HarperCollins negotiating e-book deal for tablet
47:40 – Next week’s Apple event to be iLife / iPhone OS 4.0 / tablet trifecta?
56:30 – Apple rumor roundup: iPhone patent 4.0 edition

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Contact the podcast

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Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget

Filed under: Podcasts

Engadget Podcast 180 – 01.22.2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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